A Country Falls (Greatest Thief 3) - Chapter 9: Chapter 9

We were in Zianna for just over two weeks. Despite Acen's absence, the other knights decided to keep trying to train me. I didn't enjoy the process, but I quickly realized that the knights liked the distraction. Training me was entertaining and helped them forget about the war, so I put up with it.
I went to a few of the war council meetings, hanging back against the wall with whichever guard was on duty. I watched Tandrin hold court with far more confidence than Tannix had whenever he was asked to speak, but it was Queen Esmeranda who led most of the discussions. Tandrin had been the one sending messages back and forth with King Deorun, even though Queen Esmeranda held far more power. Telt traditions meant that whoever was born into the ruling family held more power than their spouse. Esmeranda's power was likely another reason Navire liked us, as they always had queens and held women in much higher regard. Deorun was ruled by men. It was probably the largest cultural difference between our two neighbors.
Queen Esmeranda and Queen Navire, despite their large age difference, seemed to get along extremely well. They presented a united front at every meeting I attended, daring anyone to argue with them. People brought up concerns and plans shifted and changed from day to day as new information came from the front lines. But nobody ever argued, everybody knew better than to get on the queens' bad sides.
When I wasn't attending a meeting or training, I dragged a knight along to the lower city. Usually it was Evrik, but a few times the twins came along. Really, Kor and Ender wanted to check on the Thief Queen and their crew. The port and the lower city were in the same direction, so sometimes they accompanied me as an excuse.
The same day Tannix announced that we would be heading back to West Draulin, Evrik heard that Castin's unit had been given their orders. It was good timing. Tannix wasn't going to attend any more meetings, and Castin would be in the lower city. It was an opportunity to have my immediate family together, maybe for the last time.
It was pouring rain the next morning, but I still planted myself in Tannix's way when he started to pack up his belongings for the trip home.
"We need to go to the lower city."
Tannix, holding a pile of folded tunics in his arms, raised an eyebrow. "We?"
"We. You and me," I said. I took the tunics from him and shoved them, not nearly as neatly as I could have, into his travelling bag. "Castin's on leave and he and Stria are going to get married, and I want to see them."
"You don't need me for that."
"I need you because you're part of my family." He still looked hesitant, so I added, "I know we're supposed to leave today. We will leave today. I'm just talking about a quick trip. And maybe the rain will let up before we have to start sailing."
He looked at the window. The rain was falling so heavily it was hard to see the city. "Rain doesn't stop sailors. But yes, we can spare time for a quick visit." He stepped around me to carefully pull a hooded cloak from his bag. "They're getting married? Should we bring a gift? Or maybe just some money. That would be more helpful, wouldn't it?"
I dug through my own bag to find my hooded cloak. "They would appreciate it."
"Good." I heard the clinks of coins as Tannix dropped money into a small pouch. "Let's go."
The cloaks were quickly drenched and heavy, but at least they were warm. The main pass and the streets of the lower city were nearly empty. For most of our walk, the only people we saw were soaked, bedraggled guards. Nobody went out in this kind of rain unless they had to.
In the lower city, I didn't take Tannix directly to the thieves' building. There was something else I wanted to do first. We passed through the nearly empty courtyard and did our best to avoid the huge puddles that were gathering on the cobblestones. It wasn't until I stepped up a few stairs onto a tiny covered porch that there was any relief from the rain.
Tannix joined me, eyeing the doorway quizzically as he pulled his hood back. "Is this Baisan's new building?"
I pushed back my hood. "No. It's our temple. Sort of."
"Oh."
"That temple in Navire was beautiful," I said. "But it wasn't mine. I want to show you mine. I'm not trying to make you feel bad for what happened in the past, I just want to show you because... I don't know." I shrugged. "It's important, I guess."
Tannix slipped his hand into mine. "Of course it is."
I hesitated a moment longer before pushing open the door, steeling my nerves. Why, I wasn't exactly sure. There was no reason to be embarrassed by our run down, makeshift temple. Tannix knew who I was. There was nothing I needed to hide from him.
The first room was just a small entranceway, with a table and a few lit candles. There were hooks on the wall, and I let go of Tannix's hand to hang up my cloak. Once he had copied me, I picked up a candle and took his hand again.
The second room had been set up to mimic a proper temple. Rain drummed loudly on the roof, lending the room a strange sort of hushed silence. In the middle of the room, a raised trough of oil and wood burned gently. Small niches had built along either wall to hold figurines of most of the gods. At the far end of the temple, the three Triplets stood on a slightly raised platform.
The statues were life size, old and worn down. Zianesa was our patron, so she stood in the middle. In the folds of her dress there were hints of green paint. Her crown was carefully carved to look like wood. Her hands hung down at her sides with her fingers spread, and vines had been carved to reach up to meet them.
Kitsa stood on her left. She was supposed to have her hands clasped in front of her chest, but instead her arms were missing, leaving two stumps that cut off near the elbow. Her dress should have been white. Her worn face was tilted upwards. In a proper temple there would be windows, so that she could see the sky.
Roe was in even worse condition. He had a cloth wrapped around his waist, but the lines had become so soft that it was impossible to tell where the cloth began and his skin ended. His right hand held a chunk of spear. His left hand—the fingers that still existed—was stretched out and held open. My mother once told me that he was meant to be holding a small ship.
Tannix's hand squeezed in mine. I couldn't imagine that many Telts had ever seen the statues. They had only lasted as long as they had because they were hidden. Bringing Tannix here might have broken some sort of unspoken rule, but I didn't care.
"Can I leave an offering?" Tannix broke the silence.
The Navirian temple had been full of offerings, but in Zianna, not many of us could afford it. When I was younger, before my mother had died, I had sometimes left little pieces of jewellery or copper siyas for Zianesa. It had been years since then.
"Yes," I said.
Tannix took his hand from mine and dropped to one knee. From his pocket he pulled out a single gold siya. He whispered something I couldn't hear over the thundering sound of the rain, and placed the coin in front of Zianesa's feet. When he stood, he reached for my hand again.
We stood in silence for a while, as I turned a thought around in my head. I didn't realize that I was biting my lip until I tasted blood. "Um... Tannix?"
"Hmm?"
"In West Draulin... maybe, if you wanted to, you could show me your church?"
Tannix's slow smile made my heart skip a beat. "I'd love to."
Tannix was very impressed by Baisan's building. It took me a moment to wrap my head around why. It wasn't the building itself—Tannix could have bought the building, demolished it, and built a better one without a second thought. It was what Baisan had done with the building. The way he had invited other street children to live there, the way he was carefully using his money and looking for more legal ways to earn money.
I had once seen similarities in Tannix and Baisan. They were both leaders in their own unique ways. It was nice to see Tannix acknowledging it, too.
"Does Tandrin know about this?" Tannix asked. Baisan had reluctantly laid out his map and a few lists of numbers for Tannix to look at.
He was standing by the table, his arms crossed. Baisan was proud of himself, but he was trying to act nonchalant about it. "I don't think so. He never asked what we used the money for."
"And these symbols correspond to?"
"Shops, taverns or brothels. Places where people are willing to pay us a few siyas for little jobs."
Ninavi was sitting beside me, wiggling a poorly carved wooden animal for Gale to grab at. Stria and Castin had gone to find a blacksmith, so Ninavi was left in charge of our nephew. Orrun and Leker were nearby, whispering. I couldn't hear them, but I imagined they were discussing what I had learned about their brother.
"This is amazing work," Tannix said. "I'd love to donate more money to your cause."
With truly spectacular effort, Baisan managed to act like the offer wasn't as interesting as it really was. "Won't people think that's strange?"
"Probably." Tannix's gaze flickered towards me. "All right, how about this. I owe Finn a salary. It isn't uncommon for people to arrange to have parts of their salaries forwarded to family members. Sailors do it all the time, most of my knights send money to their families. So I can send Finn's money to you."
"Really?" This was the first I was hearing of a real salary. Tannix was always happy to simply buy things for me. "Even though we're not actually related?"
"No one's going to look into whether or not you're blood related," Tannix said. "So, should I set it up?"
Baisan and I exchanged a glance, and I nodded. "Yes. Give Baisan my money."
"I'll set it up once we're home," Tannix said. "Actually, speaking of money, I brought a gift for—"
As if he had summoned them, the door creaked and Castin and Stria walked in. I watched Castin's hand instinctively go for his knife before he realized who Tannix was. Stria pulled away from him to pick up Gale, who happily babbled some nonsense.
"Where's the stone?" Ninavi sprung to her feet. "What did you do with it?"
"We just asked to have a piece chipped off," Stria said, without looking away from her son. "We'll figure out what to do with it after. When Castin's home."
"Congratulations," Tannix said. "I was just saying that Finn and I brought you a gift." He pulled the pouch of coins from his pocket. "If I had more time I would have tried to think of a proper gift, but I thought money would be more helpful."
Castin took the pouch, and when he inspected it, his eyes widened. "These are all gold."
Tannix shrugged. "One of the things I like most about being rich is being able to share my money with people who need it. You can use that however you would like, but don't put it towards building repairs. Finn's salary is going to see to that."
Stria shifted Gale to one arm and reached into the pouch with the other, pulling out two gold siyas. "This is very generous, my lord. Thank you." She showed Gale the coins. He picked one up and immediately put it in his mouth. Stria just sighed and calmly plucked it out. "I'll buy Gale some new toys. Something he can chew on."
"I think we should have a feast." Castin looked up to see that we were all staring at him, and he nodded firmly. "I want to use some of the money for a feast. That's what rich people do when they get married." He looped an arm around Stria's waist, and cleared his throat. Castin always put someone else first. Baisan or Stria, and now Gale. He never wanted anything for himself. It was as if he wasn't used to the feeling. "I want to celebrate. And I want an amazing day to remember. With my whole family."
Tannix was the first to move. "Right. I'll go. Finn, I'll send Evrik to get you when it's time to leave, and—"
"You can stay," Castin interrupted.
Tannix was already halfway across the room, reaching for his damp cloak. "Oh, I.. I don't want to impose."
Army training had made Castin bold. He glanced around the room, at every one of our siblings, and then looked at Tannix again. "Do you love Finn?"
Tannix opened his mouth to say something, but stalled. He was entirely caught off guard, entirely unprepared for such a direct question. He looked at me, then at Castin again.
"Yes."
Ninavi shrieked and wacked my arm. "I knew it!"
"We all knew it," Orrun added quietly.
Castin and Tannix were still staring at each other. Castin stepped forward, and held out his hand. It was very backwards. Shaking hands was a Telt gesture. Tannix grabbed it.
"Then," Castin said. "You're part of my family."
I heard Leker whisper, "Does this mean we're related to the King?"
Orrun shushed him.
"I'm truly honoured," Tannix said. The surprise had run its course, and he was back to his normal self. "Above all else, I admire people who work hard and earn their place in the world. I've never met any group of people who have worked as hard as you have. You're braver, smarter and stronger than many nobles I've met."
"And, we're hungry," Orrun spoke up. "So how about that feast? Me and Leker volunteer to go buy it."
Castin laughed and handed him one gold siya. Orrun clutched the coins, nearly giddy with excitement, and the boys rushed out of the room.
Leker and Orrun came back with fresh loaves of bread, a basket of roasted meats, a bag of apples and carrots. Everything was a little damp from the rain, which didn't bother us in the slightest. The best surprise was the sweet pastry, dusted with sugar, which Leker had carefully carried under his cloak to keep it dry.
We sat in the circle, passing around the food and eating with our hands. The thieves were pleasantly surprised when Tannix picked out a piece of chicken with his fingers. He wasn't the proper Telt they had expected him to be. It felt like they were finally really seeing him the way I did. Sure, he was noble—in both meanings of the word—but he was also a real person. A young man who could think and learn and change, despite his upbringing.
We talked about anything we could to avoid thinking about the war. We told Tannix stories about growing up. We teased each other and joked about stupid things we had done. Tannix told silly stories about his own childhood, and even a few about Tandrin that we had to promise never to share. We ate our fill and laughed as outside, the rain continued nonstop.
The dim sunlight through the clouds made it hard to keep track of time. All I knew was that it was sometime in the afternoon when Drio, the boy from the front door, knocked and timidly poked his head into the room.
"Sorry, but... that Telt knight is here again."
Tannix laughed. "I can't believe they actually sent Evrik after me." He stretched and got to his feet. He offered me a hand and I yanked myself up. The cheerful mood in the room was already vanishing.
"So, West Draulin?" Baisan stood.
"I'll be safe," I promised. "I'll be back to see you."
"I'm not going to let him get hurt," Tannix added.
Everyone else was getting up. I hugged Gale and the girls first, then the younger boys. When it was Castin's turn, he halfheartedly complained that we had already done this, but he still wrapped his arms around me. When I hugged Baisan, I could feel the tension in his shoulders. For a few hours, he had had us both back. Me and Castin, sitting on either side of him, taunting each other. Now he was losing us both at once.
But when I pulled back, he was smiling. It was almost convincing. "Be careful."
"You too. You can do this."
I turned, taking my cloak from Tannix and draping it over my shoulders. Then, sooner than I would have liked, we were back outside in the rain. With Evrik, we walked through the lower city and out to the port, where the Thief Queen was waiting to take us home.